Geezer Butler, the bassist for Black Sabbath, talked about the publication of his book, “Into the Void,” in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. He mentioned Ozzy Osbourne’s lack of communication throughout this chat and cited their wives as the reason.
When the interviewer brought up his depictions of Tony Iommi in the book, the conversation shifted to the bassist’s connections with the other Black Sabbath members. Butler stated the following of the guitarist:
“He’s always been there for me. You know, he’s a good friend. We can slag each other to death. It’s like marriage, really. You have terrible arguments, you fall out, and you come back together. But he’s always there. He always is. I hope he is after this book as well.
I still love Bill [Ward], but he’s not on the internet. If you want to talk to Bill, you have to email his wife, and she has to tell him. It’s really awkward. [Laughs] Ozzy, I don’t speak to at all.”
When asked if he could get back talking with Osbourne, he replied:
“I very much doubt it. We didn’t fall out; it was the wives.”
The bassist specifically addressed this matter in his book. He stated that the major cause of the breakup with the former Black Sabbath frontman was a dispute between their spouses, Gloria Butler and Sharon Osbourne.
In “Into The Void,” he said:
“Me and Ozzy are fine; it’s just that we’re both ruled by our wives. He’s got a big heart and was always there for me in times of trouble. […] We might not be as close as we were, but we’ll always be brothers. How could we not be, given everything that we went through together?”
Butler and the rest of Black Sabbath have not frequently reconnected at public events since the band’s dissolution in 2017. When Osbourne and Iommi reunited to finish the 2022 Commonwealth Games, his absence was apparent. They say the bassist’s health problems prevented him from joining them.
